Past Life, Past Love
by cheri1
Summary: Ten/Rose. After purchasing a book on discovering your past lives, the Doctor regresses Rose back to her past lives and discovers that she was a part of his past in a very big way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was a rainy day in London in the year 2006 and the Doctor and Rose were there to visit Jackie. After promising to stay for dinner, they decided to go to the shops to kill some time. They found a bookshop and went inside. While the rain continued to fall, the Doctor quietly perused the books on the shelves. He wasn't really there to purchase anything. Most human books seemed infantile or out of date to him. It was just something to do while Rose picked out a couple of books to take back to the TARDIS. He stopped at a collector's edition copy of the DaVinci Code and picked it up. He stood and thumbed through it, staring at the photos of the artworks and locations mentioned in the book.

"Do you believe that?"

The Doctor looked up and saw a young lady standing beside him. The lady had long black hair that cascaded down to the small of her back. She had light makeup on and a nose ring. She pointed to the book when the Doctor gave her a questioning look.

"Have you read this?" she asked him.

"No, but I know what it's about," the Doctor said.

"Do you believe that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene then?"

"Yes. They had several kids as well, all of them lovely by the way. Very well behaved."

The woman gave him an odd look.

"Yeah, I'm sure Jesus's kids were all saints," the woman muttered. "Excuse me."

The Doctor shrugged when she moved away from him and turned his attention back to the artwork.

"Hey!"

The Doctor looked up when Rose came up to him. She showed him a book.

DISCOVER YOUR PAST LIVES: LEARN WHO YOU WERE THROUGH HYPNOSIS.

The Doctor snorted at that and shook his head.

"You don't believe in past lives?" Rose asked.

"I believe in past lives in the sense that I've had nine past lives before this one. But I don't believe you can be put under hypnosis and suddenly you're remembering your life as Napoleon."

"I want to get this. I do believe in it and I want to try to find out my past lives," Rose said.

The Doctor studied her for a moment.

"Didn't think you believed that sort of stuff but since you do, who do you think you were in another life?" he asked as he put his book back on the shelf.

"Dunno, that's why I want to find out. Will you help me?" Rose said.

"Help you in what way?"

"Well, there are instructions on how to hypnotize someone and send them back into their past lives. Will you do the hypnotizing?"

"What happens if you find out you were a milkmaid in the medieval England? Will we take the TARDIS back and try to find you?" the Doctor teased.

"Mm, perhaps. Will you help me though?"

"Oh alright, I'm a bit curious anyway," the Doctor said. "I wanna know what past lives you had. I'm betting you were Joan of Arc or Cleopatra or some nutter that collected cow poo in a wooden cart and sold it to the locals."

Rose laughed at that and the Doctor followed behind her while she walked up to the counter to pay for the book.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Wow, Jackie can actually make a very good roast. I'm quite full now," the Doctor said as he patted his stomach.

He and Rose were sitting in the living room while Jackie cleaned the dishes. While he lounged in a chair, Rose sat on the sofa. She whistled to him and showed him the book when he looked her way.

"Now?" he groaned.

"Yeah, come on, it'll be fun," Rose said.

The Doctor held out his hand and Rose put the book into it. She watched in astonishment while the Doctor did a super-speed read of the book, flipping through the pages rapidly while he read the contents.

"Well, I read the instructions on how to do this whole past life regression thing," he said. "Seems valid although I still don't believe you can access past lives that way. But what the hell? Is your mum going to be witness to this then?" he said, hooking his thumb back at the kitchen.

"Um…dunno, she might think it's rubbish."

"I think it's rubbish and you still want me to do it."

"Yeah, but you won't laugh or criticize me. Better not. Just let her do the washing up while we try this."

"Okay," the Doctor said. "Lay flat on the sofa then and relax."

Rose lay flat on her back and put her head on one of the small sofa pillows.

"Now close your eyes and imagine you're at the top of a staircase," the Doctor said. "As you go down the steps, count them and feel yourself relaxing more and more and going deeper into a hypnotic state."

Rose did that and her breathing deepened while she imagined going down the staircase in her mind. While the Doctor continued the instructions, Jackie came out of the kitchen. She stopped by the sofa and gave the Doctor a quizzical look. The Doctor held up the book, pointing to it and to Rose. Jackie rolled her eyes at that. She said nothing as she went and sat down in another chair near the sofa. The Doctor continued with the verbal instructions, quoting word for word what he read in the book while Rose went into a deep state of hypnosis. Jackie leaned up, interested in what was going on. When the Doctor finished hypnotizing her, he did what the book recommended and took her backwards in her current life, asking her to remember events when she was younger. Rose told him about a birthday party when she was six and now both he and Jackie listened in a fascinated silence while she described receiving gifts and eating cake with her friends.

"Never did believe in this past life stuff but I remember that party," Jackie said to the Doctor when Rose finished speaking.

"Sounds like she had fun," the Doctor said.

Jackie nodded and the Doctor slowly took her backwards in her life until she was inside the womb. This was the part he had trouble believing but he listened while Rose described being in a dark, warm place. Then he told her to go beyond her life and describe the first thing she saw after going backwards past her current life. There was a pause and then Rose described being stabbed in the chest. The Doctor glanced at Jackie and noticed that she looked distressed at that.

"She's saying she was stabbed to death in her past life?" Jackie said.

"Seems so," the Doctor said.

He asked Rose to describe herself and Jackie raised her eyebrow when she said she was a Japanese soldier who died during World War Two.

"I'm finding this hard to believe, Doctor," Jackie said.

"So am I but she asked me to help her do this so I'm helping her," the Doctor said. "I read through this book very quickly and doing what the book suggested to take her back to her past lives. Apparently, I succeeded."

"Or she's just saying that first thing that pops into her head," Jackie said.

The Doctor asked Rose to go past that life and try to remember other lives. Rose was silent for a moment before she finally spoke. But to the Doctor's surprise, she wasn't speaking English. Jackie was stunned when her daughter started speaking the foreign language fluently. She looked at the Doctor when he jumped out of his chair.

"What's wrong?"

"No, no, no, that can't be right. How could she know this?"

"Know what? Doctor, what language is that?" Jackie said, pointing to her daughter.

The Doctor swallowed hard and said in a shaky voice…

"Gallifreyan."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Gallifreyan? She knows your language?" Jackie said.

"No, she doesn't. I never taught her my language past a few words and phrases. I keep my language private so there's no way she could know it," the Doctor said.

"So this past life stuff is true then?" Jackie said.

"I…I don't know," the Doctor said, calming himself down as he sat back down in his chair.

By now Rose had fallen silent and the Doctor asked her to talk about her past life and asked her to speak in English.

"Where are you?" the Doctor asked while Jackie leaned forward in her chair.

"I'm near my house, looking up at the sky. The heavens and earth are on fire and it's coming towards me. There is no escape for me now."

Jackie noticed the Doctor was going pale again. She had heard the Doctor speak about the destruction of his home world before.

"She's on Gallifrey as it's being destroyed?" Jackie said.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "That's true, isn't it? You're on Gallifrey?"

"Yes," Rose said in a distant voice. "It is the last day for my planet. It is being consumed and in a few seconds I will be consumed as well."

"Oh God," Jackie said, putting her hand to her mouth. "She died that day."

The Doctor was stunned into silence. He tried to think of a rational explanation for her memories of Gallifrey but it was hard to explain away the fact that she had just spoken in perfect high Gallifreyan. Had someone from his planet reincarnated and was traveling with him now. He always did marvel at how easily Rose absorbed the words he taught her. There were several times when she would speak to him in Gallifreyan, simple conversations but he had always been impressed on how well she spoke the language, nearly like a native. Had he merely refreshed her memories from a past life? What she had spoken before had been an old Gallifreyan prayer for deliverance, far beyond the simple phrases he had taught her.

"What is your name?" the Doctor asked Rose.

"Arella."

Again, Jackie watched while the Doctor jumped out of the seat with a stricken look on his face.

"Now what? Do you know her?"

"Yes, only too well," the Doctor said, clutching the back of the chair with one hand while he stared at Rose.

"Who is she then?" Jackie said.

The Doctor swallowed hard.

"My wife, my ex-wife, I should say."

Jackie was now stunned while the Doctor took a couple of deep breaths to get his emotions back under control.

"Ex-wife?" Jackie said.

The Doctor nodded and Jackie rose when she noticed how ashen he'd become. She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe there's another woman with the name, Arella," she said.

"What is your full name, Arella?" the Doctor asked Rose.

"Arellahydoniazaphellazenon."

"It's her, people might have similar nicknames but not many people share the same formal name and Rose wouldn't know this off the top of her head. Not to mention I never spoke of Arella to her. That and the fact that she spoke fluent Gallifreyan seems to confirm that she did have a past life…as my ex-wife."

"You left your ex-wife to burn on Gallifrey?" Jackie said angrily.

She gasped when the Doctor spun around and glowered at her.

"I mean, didn't she mean anything to you?" Jackie said.

"She meant everything to me," the Doctor said in a terse voice.

"Why'd ya get divorced then?" Jackie said.

"It's complicated," the Doctor said.

"She didn't love you? Arella, I mean," Jackie said.

"She did. But an old friend got between us and she ended up suffering and nearly dying because of his jealousy and she decided to leave me. But we never stopped loving each other. I tried to get her to come with me on my travels but she didn't want to leave the planet. She hated traveling and couldn't understand why I did it but I did it in part to keep myself from thinking of her. When Gallifrey was in danger, I tried to get her to come with me then but she still wouldn't do it. I don't force people to travel with me and I didn't force her either. She died and…I killed her. "

Jackie's heart went out to him and she walked over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"No, you didn't. She made her choice to stay on Gallifrey. You didn't force her to come with you and I think that was the right decision."

"Then what's she doing here then?" the Doctor said, pointing to Rose. "If this is Arella's current life, is she here to be a constant reminder of what I did?"

"No, I think if all this is true, she's here to make up for not traveling with you before," Jackie said gently.

The Doctor considered that. Rose had been hesitant to travel when he first asked her and she even refused before he came back to get her. He and Rose had always had a deep rapport though, a bond that went deeper than other companions and he had always been amazed how quickly and deeply he had fallen in love with her. Could the answer be this? His ex-wife had reincarnated and returned as his current lover. As he looked at Rose, he decided to bring her out of the trance. He told Rose he was going to count to three and snap his fingers. When he did it, Rose opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Doctor, I saw Gallifrey burn," she said. "I couldn't have been on Gallifrey, could I?"

The Doctor and Jackie shared a glance and the Doctor forced himself to keep calm while he told her what he knew. Rose's eyes bulged when he told her Arella was his ex-wife and she sat up on the sofa.

"Are you sure about this?" Rose said.

"Rose, you spoke a Gallifreyan prayer of deliverance that I have never taught you before and you told me Arella's full name and no human could get a complicated name like that right off the top of her head. It's insane but I can't deny what you said while you were under hypnosis. Unless you somehow managed to channel Arella's spirit while you were under hypnosis but other than that, I can't understand how you could know all that information."

"But who is she? How did you meet her? Why did you divorce her? Please tell us," Rose said, eager to hear more about Arella.

"Rose, it might be too painful for him to talk about it," Jackie chided her.

"No, actually, I think it might help to speak about it," the Doctor said. "There are a lot of past hurts that might heal if I told you about Arella. But I want this kept confidential between the three of us."

"Who would I tell it to?" Jackie said. "I don't think I'd stay out of the insane asylum if I went down to the shops and started telling them my daughter's past life was an alien woman."

"You know I wouldn't tell anyone anything you wanted kept secret," Rose said.

"Okay, I'll tell you about her then," the Doctor said.

"Wait, love, I'll make you some tea and get you some biscuits," Jackie said.

The Doctor thanked her and settled back in the chair. When Jackie finally came back with cups of tea and a plate of chocolate chip biscuits, the Doctor took one of the cups and a biscuit and gathered his thoughts before he started telling his story.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Um…"

The Doctor looked at the two women who were eagerly waiting for him to start his story.

"Blimey, I realize I don't talk about my past very often but I never realized you lot were so eager to hear my story."

"We'd like to know more about you," Rose said.

"Yeah, I've known you for almost two years and you're still a mystery," Jackie said.

"Well, I prefer to stay that way, to be honest. However, in light of what's happened, I guess all this does need an explanation."

"So you really do believe I'm your reincarnated ex-wife?" Rose said.

"Either that or you somehow managed to channel Arella's spirit and she spoke through you while you were hypnotized. I really don't believe that either but something happened just now so I might as well explain. Um…I s'pose I should give some background info first about me. I grew up in the mountains of South Gallifrey and I lived with a very big family, mother, father, brothers and cousins which was typical. But I was shunned ever since I was small."

"You were different?" Rose said.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow.

"Are you remembering Gallifrey then?" he said to her.

"Not really. It was just a guess."

"Well, it's a good guess because that's the reason I was an outcast. Well…on my planet, my people were sterile so these machines called looms were invented. Everyone was grown in the machine from a combination of genetic material and they were genetically engineered while they grew."

"Like what Hitler wanted to do?" Jackie said.

"Well. I suppose but there were never evil intentions behind it. It was done to ensure the child was healthy and also because a child was engineered to become an ordinary Gallifreyan or a Time Lord like me."

"So that's not just a fancy name then?" Rose said.

"No, it's what I am. A Time Lord was engineered to see the time lines and have a more intelligent mind which the ordinary Gallifreyan didn't possess. There were a limited number of Time Lords verses everyone else. That was done to ensure that Time Lords didn't become too powerful and overrun the general population and also because being a Time Lord is a huge responsibility. Managing time is a huge burden and they didn't want 8 million Time Lords going through time and continuously changing it. So limits were set. Problem was, I was never meant to be a Time Lord."

"They made a mistake when they made you?" Rose said.

"No. I was an anomaly."

"How'd ya mean?" Jackie said.

"You were supposed to be an ordinary Gallifreyan and something went wrong with this loom machine?" Rose added.

"Well, yes but what happened defied description," the Doctor said. "You see…when a Gallifreyan was loomed, there was no navel since nourishment was delivered to the baby inside the machine's version of a placenta. The baby got everything it needed from the chemicals and nutrients it was floating around in. But…"

He stood up, took off his jacket and pulled his shirt out of the waistline of his trousers. He pulled his trousers down slightly and showed them his navel.

"How'd that happen then if no one on your planet had navels?" Jackie said.

"Dunno. No one knows. It formed while I was in the loom," the Doctor said, tucking his shirt back in his trousers. "I have no idea how I got it but it marked me as different from the first and I grew up being harassed and teased by other people because I had a hole in my belly."

"You poor thing," Jackie said as the Doctor sat back down.

"Eh, I learned to live with it," the Doctor said. "But I was shunned for the most part, mostly because people couldn't understand why I had this navel and also because I was made into a Time Lord regardless of the loom's instructions to make me into a normal Gallifreyan. At the time I was born, the limit had been reached and they weren't supposed to make any more Time Lords until one of the current Time Lords died. So I was one over the limit which also didn't endear me to many people. Not to mention the geneticist in charge of looming me was arrested and accused of making me a Time Lord on purpose. There was a huge scandal because of that and because of the scandal, I was known outside of my hometown. An extra Time Lord with a navel was big news all over the planet."

"So you're used to being known then?" Rose teased. "Been famous since birth."

"Yeah…I was the child celebrity…except it was in a bad way. I grew up alone; even my own family avoided me whenever they could. The only true friend I had when I was growing up was a fellow outcast called Koschei."

"I thought you lot were more intelligent than we were," Jackie said. "You'd think your people would be smart enough to accept others and their differences."

The Doctor snorted.

"My people and yours are alike in many different ways. My people might have claimed to be enlightened but they were still capable of crass behaviors. Many races have a natural fear and aversion of the unknown and the fact that Koschei and me were children meant nothing to them. We were still avoided as much as possible."

"What was wrong with Koschei then?" Rose said.

"He was a bit…odd. He ended up going insane but for as long as I known him, he was a bit off. He ended up becoming one of my worst enemies and he renamed himself the Master."

"Your best friend became your worst enemy?" Rose said.

"Yup. And I'll tell you more about that but at this point in the story, he and I were best mates. His father owned a large estate near the mountain and I would go down there most afternoons and play with him. There were fields of red grass on Gallifrey and we used to run through them, play hide and seek, make up games, that sort of thing. We seemed to understand each other so it wasn't just bonding together to protect ourselves from everyone else's scorn. We got to the point where we were finishing each other's sentences. We were two of a kind. He was a Time Lord as well but unlike me, he had been loomed to be one because two Time Lords had died and he was created to take the place of one while I assumed the spot the other one had vacated. So Koschei was several years younger than I was but that didn't stop us from being friends."

The Doctor paused to take a sip of tea.

"Time Lords were allowed to play and lead a carefree life until they became eight years old and that's when they entered the Academy to start the academic phase of their life. Before they entered the academy though, they went through an initiation ritual. Every child was required to look into the Untempered Schism. It was this gap in the fabric of reality and through it you could see the vortex, what the TARDIS travels through," he clarified for Jackie. "The ritual is a frightening thing because you are required to stare at the heart of time and space itself. Some people are inspired after seeing it, some people run and some go insane."

"They make children look at something that might make them go insane?" Jackie said.

"Yes, it was part of the initiation ceremony. It was a risk but the Time Lords felt it was a necessary evil because all the Time Lord children must see their inheritance. By the time Koschei went through it, I had been at the Academy for several years so I didn't see what happened to him personally."

"What did happen?" Rose said when the Doctor took another sip of tea.

"They took him up to the schism to see into it and supposedly he stood there just transfixed for several minutes. Normally, most children can't take the sight of it for more than a minute or two but he just stood and stared. Then he started to laugh hysterically and it frightened the Time Lord elders. He turned to them and yelled at them that he had been given a sign that he would be greater than all of them. The Time Lords took him to the infirmary after that because he couldn't stop laughing."

"So it inspired him, looking into the schism?" Rose said.

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, Rose, it drove him mad. The laughter was the sort of laughter an insane person does. The matrons managed to calm him down and they made him rest in bed for a few days. He stopped laughing and outwardly, he looked like he returned to normal but he was never the same after that. That whole moment changed him forever and I was the one who ended up having to deal with him through the centuries."

"What about you then? What did you do when you saw this schism thing?" Jackie asked.

The Doctor grinned.

"I ran away in fear," he said.

"Coward," Rose teased as she poked his arm playfully.

"I'd like to see you do it, Rose Tyler. I would do it except Gallifrey is time locked now and there's no way to go back. But I'm betting you couldn't stand it either. It was a rare person who could stand there and watch the vortex without going bonkers. I'm glad I didn't do what Koschei did and go off my trolley. The Untempered Schism was destroyed with the planet and it's one of the few good things that came out of all that. Too many children like Koschei were warped forever because they were forced to look at it. Anyway…Koschei entered the academy and we hung out together like we did when we were younger. After a few years, we even managed to land up as roommates and we helped each other with our studies. But then came the day that Arella entered our lives and things suddenly became very complicated."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"So, I show up and complicate things then?" Rose said.

"Yes, some things haven't changed," the Doctor said.

Jackie chuckled when Rose playfully punched his arm. He took another sip of tea and gathered his thoughts for the next part of his story.

"When I first met Arella it was at the beginning of another academic year," he said. "I had an advanced quantum theory class and I arrived early that day so I could prepare myself for the lecture…"

The young Doctor entered the classroom, paused and looked around. The room was empty so he walked over to the steps at the side of the room and walked up to the top row of seats. He liked to sit at the back and keep to himself. He didn't fraternize with the other students, except for Koschei but sharing classes with him was becoming rarer and rarer. The chairs were made of hard plastic with a small desk attached to them. The desk had a small monitor and keyboard near the top in case the student wanted to take notes and also a holoprojector on the left hand side that would allow viewing of examples brought up in the lecture. The Doctor put his satchel down by his chair and opened it. He pulled out a small computer that resembled an IPad and put it under the monitor. He turned it on and pulled a small keyboard out of the bottom. He typed in the name of the class and the hour the class started and the textbook for the class appeared on his monitor. He used his fingers to slide open the front cover of the book and he began to read, trying to get a head start on the lecture.

He was so engrossed in reading that he didn't know someone else had entered the room until he heard someone clearing their throat. He looked up and saw a young woman standing beside him. She was tall and thin with long, brown hair that had been braided and put into a bun. Her dark green eyes gazed at him and the Doctor couldn't help but admire their beauty. She had a satchel similar to his and she held it in both hands in front of her.

"Hi, um…sorry," she said in a slightly high pitched voice. "I came in early so I wouldn't be late and I saw you. Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"No, go ahead," the Doctor said.

The woman thanked him and took the desk next to his. The Doctor glanced at her as she sat down, admiring her beauty. The woman smiled at him and pulled her monitor out of her satchel.

"Hate quantum theory. It's so boring, I feel like pulling my hair out of my head," she said.

"I don't mind it. It's an easy subject for me," the Doctor said with a shrug.

The woman studied him.

"I don't think I've ever seen you before," she said. "I'm Arellahydoniazaphellazenon but people call me Arella."

"Merzetophiliostomozeta. Call me Merzet."

Rose perked up when the Doctor said that.

"That's your real name then?" she said, excited.

"Nope. It's an alias. You know, names have been changed to protect the innocent. The reason I'm using it is because I didn't call myself the Doctor until later and I still want to keep my name private so just assume I'm called Merzet."

"Blast, I thought you just told us your real name," Rose muttered.

"If you're his wife's past life, shouldn't you remember his real name?" Jackie said to Rose.

"I should, I s'pose but I don't. This whole meeting he's describing is new to me. I s'pose when you enter a new life, memories of your old lives are buried deep in your mind so you don't confuse them with this life. Anyway…sorry…continue...Merzet."

"Well…" the Doctor said.

"Merzet, that's pretty," Arella said. "So…what are you hoping to do once you graduate?"

"Be part of the observation team. You?"

"Archiving. I'm not interested in traveling," Arella said.

"Archiving sounds boring to me. But if that's what you enjoy, do it," Merzet said.

"That's why I don't wanna be here. I won't need quantum theory for archiving but since this is a required class I have to suffer through it. Just don't be surprised if I nod off and put my head on your desk."

Merzet chuckled.

"I don't think the professor would appreciate that," he said.

"Probably not but I'd be doing something more useful. At least I think sleeping is more useful than quantum theory. So…where are you from?"

"South Gallifrey. The mountains. You?"

"East Gallifrey. Little town called Starshine City. Trust me, it wasn't a city, that was just wishful thinking on the namer's part. I guess I'm little more than a yokel. How about you? Are you a yokel?"

"I hope not," Merzet said. "I like to think of myself as sophisticated. Not everyone from the mountains of South Gallifrey is a hick."

"Perhaps not. You're a cute hick though," Arella said.

A few more students started to file into the classroom so Arella and Merzet lowered their voices.

"So how long do you have to go to school then?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Oh, about a hundred and fifty years," the Doctor said.

Rose and Jackie shared a look.

"You went to school for a hundred and fifty years?" Rose said in disbelief.

"Yes. Time Lords become experts on the universe. You don't think that sort of thing comes overnight, do ya?"

"You said your brain was engineered for this Time Lord stuff," Jackie said.

"Yes, but they still had to teach us. My brain holds more information than the average Gallifreyan which is why it takes so long. In order to graduate, a Time Lord must become an expert on every facet of time and space."

"And you graduated then?" Rose said.

Rose and Jackie stared at the Doctor while he fidgeted.

"You did graduate, right?" Rose prompted when he didn't say anything.

"Um…yeah, just barely, but yeah," the Doctor said.

"Barely? You're traveling through time and space with someone who just "barely" made it through school?" Jackie said to Rose.

"He's cute so I forgive him," Rose said with a shrug.

Rose giggled when the Doctor blushed at that. He cleared his throat.

"Moving on then!" he said while Rose sniggered. "Despite what you may think, Jackie. I didn't need every single class. Like Arella, I was in some classes because they were required so I'm perfectly capable and qualified to travel through time and space."

"But he's just barely qualified, mind," Rose said.

"I can go back out to the TARDIS and not finish this story of mine," the Doctor said to Rose while she giggled. "I'm sure you'd hate me if I did that since you and your mum are just aching to learn more about my early years."

"I'm sorry, I'll behave," Rose said. "I wasn't exactly a bright spark at school."

"That's for bloody sure."

"Mum!" Rose said while the Doctor chortled.

"Anyway, getting back to my story before the two of you get in an argument," the Doctor said. "Arella and I became close because of that class. We would meet afterwards to compare notes and discuss the lecture and I found that I was becoming fond of her. I mentioned her in passing to Koschei but I never really talked about her in depth. I s'pose I was a bit protective of her and our time together because I couldn't believe that someone other than Koschei wanted to be my friend. And Koschei had separate classes that year so we really didn't see much of each other during the day. Still, after years of being bullied and harassed, I didn't think she saw me as more than a friend and study partner. However, all that changed the night of the annual Krunke's Comet Dance."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Krunke's Comet Dance?" Jackie said.

"Yes. Krunke's Comet was an annual event. It appeared in the sky at the same time every year so we had a celebration of sorts. Sorta like Christmas. People gave gifts, sang and feasted."

"All because some bloody rock appears in the sky? You got all worked up over that?" Jackie said.

"I'm sorry, Jackie, if our festivals were held in honor of stupid stuff," the Doctor said while Rose laughed. "I didn't invent the holiday but when I find out who did, I'll be sure to give them one of your slaps across the face for thinking up a stupid holiday that doesn't involve Christmas trees and caroling."

"So this was a huge festival?" Rose said before her mother could say something snide in return.

"Very huge. We didn't have many festivals on my planet so we went all out when we did have them. Krunke's Comet Day was the biggest and the Academy organized a dance for the students along with a huge dinner and gift giving. It was a welcome break from our studies and most students looked forward to it. I saw most students because Koschei was like Jackie, couldn't see the point in it. He wasn't much for celebrating and wasn't much for mingling either. Except for me, he kept to himself and studied. I would have done the same except Arella brought me out of my shell and I began spending more and more time with her since Koschei kept getting more and more sullen and withdrawn. Still, I was surprised when she asked me to the dance because I still didn't think I had much of a chance with her. It was a couple of days before the dance and I was heading back to my dormitory when Arella caught up and stopped me…"

"Merzet, wait!" Arella said as she ran across the courtyard towards him.

Merzet stopped and turned, giving her a questioning look. The day was sunny and a warm breeze was blowing through his shoulder length brown hair.

"Yes?" he said.

"I wanted to ask before you went to your room. Are you doing anything for the dance?"

"I'm attending," Merzet said.

"Are you taking anyone?" Arella prompted.

"No. I was going to go by myself."

"Can I go then?" Arella said.

"I don't see why not. No one's stopping you from attending the dance."

"No, silly, can I go with you as your date?"

Merzet stared at her in shock.

"You want to be my date at the dance?" he said, not sure he heard right.

"Yes. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't think you'd want to go to the dance with me."

"Why not?" Arella said.

"Well…because you're beautiful and there are far better candidates than me," Merzet said.

"But I like you. You're the first person I connected with here and I thought if you weren't doing anything, you could accompany me. So are you interested or not?"

To his surprise, Merzet actually made his jaw and his tongue work and he heard himself agreeing to go to the dance. Arella smiled.

"Good, shall I come to your dormitory then?" she asked him.

"Um…yes, around five o'clock."

"I'll see you then, Merzy."

"Merzy?" Rose said while Jackie snickered. "How cute, can I call you Merzy then?"

"No, you can call me Doctor."

"But I like Merzy better and besides I thought it up in the first place," Rose said.

"No, you didn't because as I told you before, Merzet is an alias. I'm not telling you what you really said to me."

"Why? Is it more embarrassing then Merzy?" Jackie said.

"Tons more embarrassing which is why you lot will never know it. So anyway, on with the story."

"Keep going, Merzy, this is incredibly entertaining," Rose said.

She snickered when the Doctor gave her a dirty look for a moment.

"Anyway," the Doctor said as Rose gave him a playful poke in the arm, "I kept the secret of my date from Koschei until the last moment."

"Why?" Jackie said. "Afraid he might steal her away from ya?"

"Um…no, I realized after we started rooming together that he fancied me."

"Your childhood friend had a crush on ya?" Rose said.

"Well, I wouldn't call it crush; it was more like an obsession."

"And did you return the obsession?" Jackie said.

"No."

"You aren't bisexual then?" Jackie said.

Rose laughed when the Doctor gave her an incensed look.

"No and I don't believe it would be any of your business if I was," he said.

"Jack'll be upset when he hears you aren't interested in men," Rose said.

"I don't think Jack cares if I am or not. I think the only thing Jack listens to is the womb broom in his trousers and if his womb broom is interested, that's all that matters. Anyway, on with my story. I kept my date secret from Koschei until a few hours before Arella was supposed to come over and that's only because Koschei saw me getting dressed for it."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Koschei lay on his bed and grinned while he watched Merzet pulling on his formal Prydonnian robes.

"Don't tell me you're going to that daft dance tonight," Koschei said.

"I am," Merzet said tersely.

"Be bit lonely, won't it? Unless you're planning to run after someone and beg them to be your date," Koschei said.

"That won't be necessary."

"Really? Why not?" Koschei said.

Merzet didn't answer as he adjusted his robes. Koschei hopped up and walked over to him.

"You're planning to just go and stand at the back of the auditorium?" he asked Merzet.

"No, I plan to have a good time, Kosch. I can have a good time despite my loner nature," Merzet said.

"And having a good time means what? Putting tafelshrew meatballs and garja juice into your mouth while you watch the dancers?"

"If you must know, I have a date," Merzet said in exasperation.

"Oh, really? Who? Because I didn't get the memo, you know," Koschei said with a wry grin. "It was rude of you to wait to ask me until the last minute but I forgive you."

"You're not my date, Kosch. I'm going with someone from one of my classes."

Merzet sighed when he saw anger flash momentarily in Koschei's eyes.

"I'm sorry; Kosch, but you could have gotten a date of your own."

"I thought we were friends, Merzet," Koschei said angrily.

"We are friends but that doesn't mean I have to spend all my time with you. I made a friend in my quantum theory class and she asked me to the dance. You could have done the same if you didn't keep to yourself all the time!"

"I keep to myself because those people out there are useless phonies who laugh at us behind our backs!" Koschei said.

"Not everyone! There are some people who like us for who we are."

"Oh puh-leeze! This person is using you, whoever it is. Probably wants to make someone else jealous or just wants you for your body. What is this person gonna think when they see the little hole in your stomach?"

"I can't live my life in the shadows, afraid of being shunned because of some stupid hole in my stomach. That wasn't my doing and I'm not going to let people's opinions of it and me keep me from living my life. What if you're wrong? What if my date actually likes me for who I am not what she can get out of me?"

"She? Hmmm, a woman actually wants you. Color me surprised then," Koschei said. "Who is she then?"

"Her name's Arella. She's coming here to get me so don't do anything to upset her."

"Oh, trust me, I'll be a perfect gentleman, sweetie," Koschei growled at him.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Wow, this is better than Eastenders," Rose said. "I'm sorry I didn't get this past life book sooner so I could hear all about your soap opera life."

"My life is not a soap opera!" the Doctor said indignantly.

"It's not, eh?" Rose teased. "Man in love with woman while roommate is in love with him. Classic love triangle. Where's the evil twin then?"

"What evil twin?" the Doctor said.

"The evil twin that shows up, impersonates the hero and makes trouble," Jackie said.

"Yeah, where's the evil twin?" Rose said.

"I don't have one. Unless you count Koschei as one."

"So, he's your secret brother then?" Jackie said.

"No, Jackie, Koschei isn't my secret bloody brother!" the Doctor said while Rose laughed.

"Hey, mum, don't forget the amnesia bit where the Doctor will forget who he is and ends up a salesman in some faraway town."

"And while he's the salesman, he falls in love with his mother," Jackie added.

"Okay, I'm tired, back to the TARDIS now!"

"No, sit down; we're just having ya on!" Rose said, grabbing his arm when the Doctor started to get up. "Keep going, I wanna hear about the jealous battle between Arella and Koschei when she comes to get ya."

"Jealous battle?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, over you. Fight to the death sort of thing," Rose said with a shrug.

"There was no battle to the death over me. She showed up and I left with her."

"Blast, that's boring. You need to make something up then so you can entertain us," Rose said.

She laughed and pulled on his arm when he started to get up. The Doctor sat back down and grinned when Rose patted him on the head and sat back down.

"Okay, so anyway nothing happened between Koschei and Arella when she showed up. Although Koschei was pissed off that she came and got me but I ignored him and left him in the room while I went with Arella to the dance.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

While Merzet and Arella walked to the auditorium, people around them were celebrating the holiday. Krunke's Comet was visible in the sky, a large ball of light among the stars in the sky. The party down below was in full swing. They passed by revelers dancing in front of bonfires and a few Gallifreyans were getting drunk on drambleberry wine. The partiers they walked past were run of the mill Gallifreyans and a few of them hooted and hollered at the Time Lord and Lady and made fun of their robes. The Doctor gritted his teeth when one drunken man yelled out that he looked like a pooftah.

"Ignore them, be proud of who you are," Arella said when she noticed Merzet's anger.

"I hate being a Time Lord sometimes. I stand out enough as it is without being set apart in society."

"What do you mean?" Arella said. "You look like a normal Gallifreyan to me."

She noticed Merzet's eyes lowered to the ground and she took hold of the sleeve of his robe.

"What are you ashamed of?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing. It's just something I'm known for…back home," Merzet mumbled.

"Well, you're not back home, you're here and I won't laugh at you."

Merzet smiled at that and his hearts fluttered when she took hold of his hand. They passed by Gallifreyan partiers and headed for the Academy building where the Time Lords were holding their celebration. Merzet breathed a sigh of relief when they went inside and they were among other Time Lords and Ladies dressed in their formal robes. Merzet guided Arella over to a long wooden table. The table was laden with food and drink and they both poured a bit of night berry cordial into small glass cups. The people in charge of the Academy had hired a Gallifreyan band for the night and they were playing a slow, jazzy song while a few people danced. Merzet sipped his cordial and watched them dance to the music. He suddenly got the giggles and Arella gave him a questioning look.

"I'm sorry but this headgear is not really suited for dancing," the Doctor said, knocking the top of his own skullcap. "Makes everyone look like a bunch of frilled lizards dancing."

Arella giggled.

"It does but you know the rules, we have to be in our robes for school parties and other functions."

"Yes, well rules were made to be broken," Merzet muttered. "And this is definitely one rule that needs to be changed."

Merzet glanced over when Arella called to a couple of women and wished them a happy holiday. Merzet shifted uncomfortably, painfully aware that he had no friends apart from Koschei and Arella and that thought made him feel more isolated and alone than usual.

"Arella, why don't you go talk to your friends for a bit. I'll be okay," he said to Arella.

"Nonsense, they have their own dates. I want to spend time with you. Stop being so self-conscious. I don't care about your deep, dark secret. I told you I like you and I came to the dance with you so I'm gonna spend my time with you. Now come on, let's dance."

Arella noticed the look of horror that passed over Merzet's face for a moment. She took his glass from his hand and put it and her glass down on the table. Then she took his hand and led him out among the dancers. She giggled at Merzet's awkwardness and calmly showed him how to dance. After he got the hang of it, he relaxed and enjoyed himself unaware that Koschei was standing in the shadows at the back of the room glowering at them both.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Bom bom bom!" Rose said. "So the plot thickens then? Jealous stalker is angry you're dancing with a girl and not him?"

"Yes. He decided to come and see what I was doing and didn't like what he saw," the Doctor said.

"You said this Koschei became your enemy?" Jackie said.

"Yes, he took the name Master and he's been trying to kill me for centuries."

"After spending time with ya, I can see why he wants to."

Rose bent over laughing when the Doctor glared at Jackie. She shrugged.

"You can be irritating at times, I won't lie."

"Well, so can you, Jackie, I won't lie either," the Doctor said.

"So did Koschei come over and stop ya then?" Rose said, eager to avoid a fight between her lover and her mother.

"Well…not at first, he watched from the shadows for a bit…" the Doctor said.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The band finished playing a song and Arella led Merzet off the dance floor.

"So…once you're finished with the Academy, you're going to go off to parts unknown and observe the universe?" Arella said when they walked back to their glasses and retrieved them.

"I s'pose. That's what Time Lords do, eh?" Merzet said.

"Any particular place you want to observe?"

"Well," Merzet said. "I was thinking about Earth."

"Earth?" Arella said, making a face. "Why? I've heard it's a backwards planet in the middle of nowhere. They don't have any close neighbors and they only have one moon. How boring is that?"

"Well, I did take a class on Earth history and they seem to be a fascinating lot. They're isolated but that's what makes them so interesting. They seem to be a world unto themselves and yet, they've managed to do great things despite their isolation. I want to go and find out what makes them so unique."

"I s'pose if that's your interest, you should follow it. Personally, I'd prefer Alpha Centauri or the Pleiades or even Malonganga. Somewhere where you get a diversity of life and not just a bunch of apes…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"And look at me, I died and came back as an ape," Rose said, throwing up her hands. "I turned into the very thing I despised!"

"Um…yes, I s'pose you did," the Doctor said while Rose giggled. "I wouldn't say you despised the humans, you were just misinformed about who they were, like most people on Gallifrey."

"So I decided to come back as a human because that was your favorite thing in the whole universe," Rose said, poking his arm. "I made sure you'd really love me this time around by turning myself into an ape. My God, I'm clever."

She laughed when the Doctor gave her an odd look.

"Yeah, that was genius reincarnating yourself into an ape, Rose. I'm in awe of the master plan you devised to get me to like you while you were off somewhere …dead," the Doctor said dryly while Rose sniggered.

"Yup, I made a lot of sacrifices this time around," Rose said smugly. "I made myself into something I didn't like so you'd like me all the more so you better appreciate all I did for ya because I coulda been something better than this, ya know."

"Jackie, have you ever had Rose checked for mental illnesses at any point in her life?" the Doctor said while Rose snickered and poked the Doctor's arm. "Sometimes I question her sanity."

"This coming from the man who travels around time and space in a blue box kidnapping women wherever he finds them," Jackie said.

"I didn't kidnap her," the Doctor said while Rose giggled.

"I told him no the first time but he came back again for me," Rose said.

"And you ran into the TARDIS….willingly, I might add," the Doctor said to her.

"Nah, he had some sort of ape tractor beam, it pulled me right in," Rose said.

Jackie chuckled when the Doctor gave Rose a long, hard stare.

"You're not helping, Tyler," he finally said to Rose.

"Sure, I'm helping, I'm your companion, Merzy, or did you forget?"

"Right! On with my story then!" the Doctor said while Rose winked at her mother. "Anyway, we danced and ate…"

"And made sweet love on the table in between the crisps and gherkins," Rose said.

"While the Master watched them," Jackie said.

"And then he joined in and they had a three way on top of the pizza," Rose added.

"What is going on here?" the Doctor said while Rose and Jackie laughed. "I never thought telling you my life story would bring out the comedians in the two of you."

"We're just adding a little spice to your story," Rose said.

"Well, if you're gonna do that, I'll go back to the TARDIS And you and your mother can make up the entire story on your own," the Doctor said.

"Okay, we'll shut up then. Continue with your story," Rose said innocently.

The Doctor scrutinized her while Rose kept up her innocence act. He settled back in his chair and cleared his throat while Rose shook with silent laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"So anyway we had finished dancing and decided to go somewhere and talk," the Doctor said, putting his hands behind his head while he stared up at the ceiling. "Arella asked me if I wanted to go outside for a bit so we walked towards the door and while we were walking, I caught sight of Koschei standing at the back. He had this angry look on his face but I didn't think anything about it beyond his just being jealous that I had a date for the dance and he didn't. So I ignored him and we went outside…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The air was slightly chilly and Merzet was now grateful for the warmth the robes provided. While Arella led him to a fountain in the center of campus, Merzet glanced up at the comet blazing high above them. He let out a soft sigh, wishing he was traveling up among the stars instead of being stuck at the Academy. When they reached the fountain, Arella stopped and stared at it. It had been dedicated to the Academy centuries before in honor of Rassilon. It was made of a metal that could never rust so it gleamed in the light of the moons. The fountain was a small circular pool that had several jets of water going up around a silver statue of Rassilon. He stood there in his formal robes holding a book in one hand and a representation of a black hole in the other. The statue was supposed to show his role in creating time travel by harnessing black holes and putting them in TARDISes but Merzet thought it made Rassilon look like a pompous old fart. He silently vowed never to become a self-important twit like him while he stared at the statue.

"It's a lovely night, isn't it?" Arella said, turning to him.

"Yes, yes, it is," Merzet said with a nod.

"So, what is this big secret of yours?" Arella said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Show me what you're afraid to show me. What are you hiding that makes you so different from everyone else."

"Um…I'd rather not show you in public. It's on my stomach," Merzet said.

"Is it a strange growth or something?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it a growth. More like an absence."

"Hmm, well is there somewhere quiet we can go so I can have a dekko at your strange absence?"

"I'm not sure. The classrooms are shut and the campus is shut down except for the auditorium and I'm not showing it to you there."

"Then come with me," Arella said, taking his hand.

"Arella, I'd rather not."

"Come on, Merzet, trust me. I haven't fled in terror from you yet, have I?"

"No, but you don't really know me."

"Then let me get to know you," Arella said. "Rassilon's robe, Merzet, I don't think you're a freak, alright? You're not some weird outcast to me. I wouldn't have asked you to the dance if I thought that so will you please stop being so self-conscious and shy? Just trust me!"

Merzet nodded and Arella took his hand. As they walked, Merzet glanced back and narrowed his eyes when he saw Koschei was following them at a distance. He sighed angrily thought his nose knowing that there would probably be a confrontation when he got back to the dormitory. But for the moment he turned his attention back to Arella. Even though she was dressed in full Time Lady regalia, he still thought she looked beautiful as the moons shown down on her face. He noticed, however, that she was leading him off into a section of campus that had a small path surrounded by trees and flowers. It had been put there as a nature trail for the students and Arella was now leading him inside the forest. Once inside the shelter of the trees, she led him off the path to several large trees. She looked around to make sure they were alone before stepping back from him.

"Okay, show me this absence," she said to him.

The Doctor looked around, half expecting Koschei to jump out at them. He didn't see him and he sighed as he pulled up his robes to just above his navel. Arella took a step back when she saw it.

"My God, what is it?" she said.

"I think it's called a navel," the Doctor said, dropping his robes.

"What does it do?" Arella said.

Merzet told her what navels did based on his studies of humans and Earth culture. Arella gave him an odd look.

"So how did you end up with this navel if you were loomed like everyone else?" she said when he finished his explanation. "You're not an ape."

"I know I'm not an ape and I have no idea how I got it but people have shied away from me my whole life because of it."

Merzet was confused when Arella started laughing.

"What's so funny?" he said angrily.

"Other people's reaction. They're scared of a little indentation in your stomach and made you a pariah because of it. Oh Rassilon, sometimes I wonder at the intelligence level of the people on this planet. Oh no, he has a hole in his stomach, run for the hills, he's a freak and needs to be burned at the state or disintegrated!"

"I agree with you about that," the Doctor said. "I never understood why people were so freaked out by it."

Lift your robe again," Arella said, pointing upwards.

"Why?" Merzet said, giving her a wary look.

"Just do it!"

Merzet raised his robe again and was shocked when Arella came close to him. His hearts raced when she put her hand on his stomach next to the navel and then slowly put her finger into it.

"I don't feel your guts," she said with a shrug. "It's just a tiny indentation on your stomach, big bloody deal. Stupid fools, shunning you because of that. I like it, to be honest. No one else has it and that makes you unique."

She took her finger out and ran it around the rim of the navel while Merzet's hearts beat like crazy. Then she lifted her fingers to his cheek and laid them there while she stared at his face.

"I hate those people that made you feel like shite all these years," she said. "You're unique and brilliant and intelligent and the navel thing makes you stand out and…you're handsome."

Before he could do anything, Arella kissed his mouth and drew close to him. Merzet felt his body warming all over and he felt his arms embrace her as he returned the kiss. Time seemed to stand still for him and he forgot everything except Arella.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Hey! I gave him his first kiss! I'm made of awesome!" Rose said, pumping her fist in the air.

"So, I s'pose your stalker mate jumped out of the shadows and punched you in the face while you were kissing your future wife?" Jackie said.

"Well, it wasn't during the kiss but yes, we were standing there and…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Merzet was stunned when she pulled her lips away. He tried to speak but he found he couldn't form any words. All he saw was the moonlight hitting her face through the trees, making her look even more stunning. Arella gave him an amused look when he stood there, stone silent.

"Wow, I didn't know I was that good a kisser," she quipped.

"I…I…that was amazing," Merzet finally got out.

"Well, you're amazing," Arella said, putting her hand on the side of his face. "You're not like anyone I've ever met. You're sweet and funny and your shyness is very endearing. It's better than being a pompous arse who's only out for sex."

"I…uh…."

"Yes?" Arella said.

Merzet leaned in and hesitated just before his lips reached hers. Arella chuckled and completed the kiss.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"You notice how I was the dominant one back then?" Rose said to her mother. "Nowadays it's all listen to me and do exactly as I say but apparently back then, I was the one wearing the trousers in this relationship!"

"Now wait just a moment!" the Doctor said while she chortled. "Just because I'd never kissed before didn't mean I wasn't dominant in other areas. I am a very dominant person."

"And I was the one that made him pull up the robe so I could have a look. See, I knew how to get the boy to do what I wanted," Rose said.

"I'm surprised you didn't pull out a camera and take a photo of it," Jackie said.

"Thank you! Yes, I'm surprised as well, knowing you as I do now. You must have shown some great restraint in not documenting my deformity!" the Doctor said to Rose.

"I was too busy kissing ya and besides, I probably wanted to keep the deformity for myself," Rose said with a shrug. "It was my special little navel, all for me."

"And let's just get one thing clear here," Jackie said. "You keep talking about the stupid apes and our backward ways but somehow you landed up with something we have that you lot aren't s'posed to have? And you still think you're superior to us?"

"Your species isn't the only ones who have navels, Jackie," the Doctor said. "And I never said I was superior to you!"

"HA!" Rose barked out. "Oh, that's rich! You say that about a zillion times a day!"

"I do not!" the Doctor said while Rose bent over laughing.

"No, Rose, he doesn't have to say it, he has it on a voice recorder somewhere and he just whips it out and plays it over and over when he's flying that TARDIS of his."

"Bloody hell, it's badger the Doctor day!" the Doctor said while Rose nodded her head rapidly. "I start off telling a nice story and now it's turned into take the piss out of the Time Lord. I think I'll leave!"

"You do and I'll go to the BBC and tell them an alien with a navel is invading England!" Rose said, pointing to him.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow while she continued to giggle.

"You wouldn't," he said, deciding to join in the teasing. "In fact, I wouldn't because if you do, I'll buy a loudhailer and get on a bus and yell to London that an alien with a navel is dating a chav and I'll charge a quid for any schmoe to come and see her."

"You wouldn't," Rose said with mock defiance.

"Oh? Wanna bet, Chav-a-roo? Actually, Chav-a-roo and mother," the Doctor said. "Perhaps I can find you a nice chav boy and you can make chav babies and live in a chav house in Chav-ville and have your own little chav world!"

"Then I'll call…um…Area 54 and tell them an alien is…being a twat and England needs to be rid of him," Rose said.

"it's Area 51, brainiac, not 54," the Doctor said smugly. "And if anyone is a twat, it's you, Twatzilla."

"Area 54 is where they put the twat aliens, so I was right all along," Rose said smugly. "Area 51 is for the non-twat aliens, so there!"

"Then I s'pose Area 57 is for chav women with their chavvy blonde highlights and track suits?" the Doctor countered. "And would they be putting your chavvy bum in the Burberry suite of Area 57 along with the other chavs so they can study you?"

They giggled when Jackie cleared her throat loudly.

"Can we get back to your story now and stop the chav jokes?" she said.

"I'm just trying to defend myself from the chav here," the Doctor said, pointing to Rose.

"He's jealous because I'm made of awesome and he's not," Rose said.

"Oh yes, I'm soooo jealous of Chav Chav the Wonder Bra here," the Doctor said, hooking his thumb back at Rose while she laughed. "She's just stunning in her chavness that I can't just compete."

The Doctor's eyes widened when Rose suddenly leapt up and ran her fingers rapidly through his tousle until his hair spewed in every direction.

"So there!" she said when she finished with the hair mussing and plopped back down on the sofa.

"Um…okay…" the Doctor murmured while Rose giggled hysterically. "Not quite sure what that was about but I hope you got it out of your system before you completely lose your mind and shear me like a sheep or something."

"Hmm, cut your hair and take it as a trophy? Why not?" Rose said.

"Could you please let him tell the story?" Jackie said in exasperation. "And do this teasing on your own time. I don't wanna sit here all bloomin' night listening to this story of his."

"Sorry, mum," Rose said. "We'll stop now."

"Hmmm, apparently Jackie is the one who wears the trousers in this life, eh Miss Dominant?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah and she dominates you too, Merzy, so I'd shut my gob before you get a slap."

"Just shut it and tell the bleedin' story!" Jackie said when the Doctor opened his mouth for a retort.

"Very well," the Doctor said, ignoring Rose who was sticking her tongue out at him. "Well…let's see, we were kissing in the forest and suddenly Koschei shows up on the scene and interrupts us."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Merzet stiffened when he heard a twig snap and he quickly pulled away from Arella's lips. He looked around but couldn't see anything in the forest. He could sense someone was there though and he was willing to bet he knew who it was.

"Come out and show yourself, Koschei," Merzet said.

"Blast, I was hoping I could stay here awhile and watch the show," Koschei said, stepping out of some trees to Merzet's right.

"Is this your roommate?" Arella asked Merzet.

"I am indeed his roommate," Koschei said with a small bow. "Pity I didn't get to meet you back at the dormitory but my roommate decided to meet you outside."

"Go home, Koschei," Merzet said angrily.

"No, I want to meet your lover and get to know her better. Perhaps then she'd come to realize there are better men than you."

"I doubt that," Arella said.

"Has he shown you his little defect yet?" Koschei purred as he stepped closer to her. "He has one, you know."

"I do know and he's shown me this so-called defect. I don't get why everyone thinks it's so terrifying. It's just an indention in his stomach."

"Yes. But no one knows where he got it from," Koschei said, coming closer. "It was a freak accident that turned him into a freak. Isn't that right, Wormhole?"

"Leave us alone!" Merzet growled as he stepped up beside Arella.

"Ooo, a bit tetchy tonight, mate," Koschei purred. "What's wrong? I just want to spend time with the two of you."

Merzet took Arella's hand and walked off with her. Koschei blew him a kiss when he looked back over his shoulder and shot him a look of warning.

"See ya back at the dormitory, Bubbles!" Koschei called to them as they hurried out of the forest.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Bubbles? Am I allowed to call ya that?" Rose said to the Doctor.

"No, you're allowed to call me Doctor and that's it."

"That's boring," Rose said. "But let's skip it for the moment. I take it Koschei was planning an arse beating when you got back to your room?"

"Pretty much, yeah," the Doctor said.

"You knew your friend was barking mad and you stayed with him?" Jackie said.

"Well, yes. But like I said earlier, we were both sort of outcasts so we stuck together," the Doctor said. "I didn't think he would ever turn on me though."

"That's because you're a twat with a twat brain," Rose said.

She giggled when the Doctor turned his head and fixed her with a long stare.

"You can be replaced, you know," he said.

"No, I can't, I'm your destiny. I'm your past life girlfriend so you can't chuck me out of the TARDIS."

"Just watch me," the Doctor said airily as he turned his head back towards Jackie.

He paused a moment as he stared at Jackie before asking what Rose was doing now.

"She's sticking her tongue out and flipping you the vees," Jackie said.

"Permission to do experimental surgery on her?" the Doctor said to Jackie.

"What sort of surgery?" Jackie said.

"Well, I was contemplating making her into a kind of hybrid human/velociraptor and selling her to the zoo on Alpha Centauri for her insolence."

Jackie chuckled when Rose leapt up and mussed up his hair some more before plopping back down.

"You know, mum, there have been many people who have stood before the Oncoming Storm here but I'm betting I'm the only one who messed up his hair and lived to tell about it," Rose said.

"So….experimental surgery is okay then?" the Doctor said to Jackie.

"No. Get on with the story before I surgically sew your penis to the top of your head," Jackie said.

"Dickhead! Do it, mum," Rose said.

"So anyway, we weren't bothered for the remainder of the dance but I knew Koschei was lying in wait for me back at our room," the Doctor said, ignoring Rose. "But before that happened, Arella surprised me yet again…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"I hope you aren't going to have any trouble from your friend," Arella said when the dance ended and everyone started to leave.

"I probably will but I can handle it," Merzet said with a shrug.

"Is he jealous of you because I like you?"

"No, I think he's jealous of me because he likes me," Merzet said.

"Oh. Oh! Well, he won't do anything to you, will he?"

"He might rant and rave and scream at me but I doubt he'll hurt me…and he better not lay a finger on you or I will cripple him."

"So…does that mean we are a couple?" Arella said.

"Um…well, I hadn't thought about it. I thought we were just good friends."

"We are but I like you, Merzet, and I want to be something more than just your best mate. Do you like me?"

Merzet was stunned into silence for a moment. A gorgeous girl was actually asking him to be her boyfriend. He never thought he would have that kind of chance, at least not with someone as beautiful as Arella.

"So, how 'bout it? Do you want to be a couple?" Arella said.

"Y…yes," Merzet forced out of his mouth.

Arella laughed at that and stroked his cheek.

"You're cute when you're shy, Merzy," she said fondly.

Merzet felt warmth again when Arella kissed his cheek. He quickly brought himself back down to Earth and asked Arella if he could escort her back to her dormitory. His hearts did a flip flop when Arella kissed his lips and told him he could. Feeling lighter than air, Merzet took her hand and the two of them headed for the auditorium exit.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"So you left Arella at her dormitory and prepared yourself for the confrontation?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Well, we didn't get that far. You see, Koschei was still stalking us and he was lying in wait…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

They had almost made it to Arella's dormitory when Koschei stepped out from behind a building. Merzet got between his girlfriend and his best friend while Koschei balled up his fists and came towards him.

"Back away, Koschei," Merzet growled at him while he balled up his fists.

"Ooo, the ponce gets a backbone at last. I like that!" Koschei purred before he stopped a few feet away from them. "What else you gonna do, poncey boy? Throw a punch like a real man?"

"I'm warning you, Koschei, leave us alone!" Merzet growled.

"Will you please not fight?" Arella said, stepping up beside Merzet. "I don't know you that well, Koschei, but you have no reason to be jealous of us?"

"Oh, really? So are you two a couple now?" Koschei said to her.

"We are!" Merzet said confidently.

"Whoo and he's standing up for himself. He really did get a spine. Did you give one to him because he's always been a bit of a wimp," Koschei said to Arella. "Well, I think in celebration of your couplehood I should have a go at the girl. After all, share and share alike, eh…mate?" he said, sneering at Merzet.

"If you lay one finger on her…" Merzet snarled.

"Will you two please stop this?" Arella said. "I don't want to be the cause of a rift in your friendship!"

"Too late, bitch!" Koschei yelled before he lunged at her.

Merzet gasped when he decked her and threw himself on him, pulling him off her as Arella staggered back. He threw a punch and Koschei staggered back when he caught him on the chin. Arella yelled at them to stop while Merzet followed that up with another punch to the face. Koschei staggered back again, growled in frustration and lunged back at Merzet, punching him in the gut. Arella grabbed Koschei and punched him in the face but it only made him angrier and he rammed into her and followed her to the ground. Merzet grabbed Koschei and tried to pull him off Arella when he put both his hands on her windpipe and tried to choke her…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Blimey, this has suddenly become very intense," Rose said.

"Well, I finally realized just how unhinged my friend really was," the Doctor said. "He never tried to kill anyone before that but his level of obsession for me was so deep that he felt you…Arella was a threat."

"Good job I wasn't there," Jackie said. "He would have had his testicles ripped off for doing that to my daughter."

"Is this…Master still around?" Rose asked.

"No, he's dead…as far as I know. Why? Are you afraid he'll somehow sense who you really were and come back for more?"

"I just don't wanna be around the nutter, that's all," Rose said.

"But being around this nutter is perfectly alright, is it?" Jackie said, pointing to the Doctor.

"He's a fun nutter and he's has springy hair that flies out in every direction when you run your fingers through it," Rose said.

"Yeah…springy hair," the Doctor muttered while Rose snickered. "Anyway, back to the story…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Merzet managed to pull Koschei off of his girlfriend. Arella gasped and crawled away while Merzet hit Koschei repeatedly in the face.

"You bastard! Don't you ever lay hands on Arella again!" Merzet growled as he hit him.

Koschei tried to get out from under him as he hit him repeatedly. Merzet noticed that his punches only seemed to be making him more maniacal and he grunted when Koschei slapped him hard in the face. Merzet slapped him back and Koschei was about to return it when they heard someone yelling for them to stop. Both men froze and looked over when Arella walked up with two campus guards.

"Him!" Arella said, pointing to Koschei. "He started it and he tried to kill me. My boyfriend was trying to defend himself and me."

"You bitch!" Koschei said, trying to wiggle out from under Merzet.

One of the guards whipped out a stun gun and Merzet jerked his body back when he shot Koschei. Koschei jerked for a moment and then fell unconscious. Merzet took in deep gasps of air while Arella ran and knelt with him.

"He started it," Arella said, pointing to Koschei.

"Don't worry, miss, we'll sort it out," the guard said, putting his stun gun back in the holster on his belt.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Did they believe me when I told them you didn't start it?" Rose asked.

"Yes, they did. In fact, Koschei got expelled from the Academy."

Rose and Jackie shared a look.

"So that made him even more barmy then?" Jackie said.

"Unfortunately, yes. It made him resentful of me since I didn't get punished and he hated Arella with a passion since she's the one that got him expelled."

"And now he comes after me?" Rose said.

"Yes but not just yet," the Doctor said. "One thing you have to know about Koschei is he bides his time. Revenge is a dish best served cold is very much his motto. He doesn't strike until he's absolutely ready to."

"Like I said, I hope we never meet him again," Rose said. "Daleks are bad enough without your psycho ex-friend being added to the mix."

"I'm pretty confident he's dead. The last time I saw him he was sucked into the Eye of Harmony on the TARDIS and there's no way back from that."

"That's a relief," Rose said.

"Yes, because I would still rip his testicles off his body," Jackie said.

"Well, if he ever shows up again, I'll be sure to direct him your way, Jackie."

"Oh, I have to see that," Rose said. "So what happened next then?"

"Well, things were normal for a bit and Arella and I became closer and then came our first trip into time and space…"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Trip?" Jackie said.

"Yes. At some point every Time Lord and Lady must take a trip somewhere in a TARDIS to get the idea of what it's like to travel in the vortex and also the professor gives a lecture on how to properly observe without interference."

"P'eh, apparently you didn't attend that lecture," Rose said.

"Oh, I did and it was a lecture my professor never forgot," the Doctor said.

"What about me? I was only going to be an archivist. I went in the TARDIS as well?" Rose said.

"Yes. Every Time Lord and Lady was required to do this even if they had no intention of doing it as a career. It was one of those things that everyone had to do."

"So we went together on this trip?" Rose said.

"Yes. Since we were in the same class, we took the same trip with our professor. Each professor had us go into his TARDIS and he took us to some random location. Now…mind you, we had a professor who liked confrontations. He liked to challenge students."

"How so?" Jackie said.

"He liked to take his students to points in time and space where atrocities or injustices were being performed and then he would wait for someone brave enough to protest about it. You see, Jackie, I'm not supposed to be interfering in universal events. A Time Lord's function was to observe and record history, not change it. My professor was a bit of a renegade like I was. He didn't believe a Time Lord's job was just to stand back and let history take its course, he believed in change. However, he had a posh job and had tenure and he wasn't about to risk that by flaunting the laws of time and space. But every class he had he would pose this challenge, I think in the hopes that someone would be brave enough to act and not just stand around and watch injustice being carried out."

"And you were that student," Rose said.

"Yes. But let me explain because the incident makes for an interesting story. You see, this was the first time I really set myself apart from the other students. Up till then, I had tried to blend in and act like any other student but finally, a turning point came in my academic career when I became an outcast once more…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Ugh, this'll be a waste of time," Arella said as she and Merzet joined the queue to get into the TARDIS.

"I don't think so. I'm excited. Finally, we get to go off world," Merzet said.

"Yeah, but this is what you wanna do. I wanna stay in the archives so I'm sorry if I'm not as excited as you are, Merzy," Arella said.

They and everyone else fell silent when Professor Dantura stepped up beside his TARDIS.

"Ladies and gentlemen, file inside quietly and quickly and stay within the console room. I want no trouble from anyone on this trip."

Everyone went single file into the TARDIS and Merzet walked inside and looked around at the stark white interior of the console room. As he stared at the small roundels dotting the walls, he dreamed about having his own TARDIS one day.

"Thinking about having one of your own?" Arella said to him.

"Most definitely," Merzet said. "I'll bless the day I leave this rock for good."

"Does that mean me as well?"

"Arella, come with me. You belong amongst the stars, not behind a desk in archiving."

"I don't want to travel, you know that."

"I do but I keep hoping you're change your mind," Merzet said with a wink.

Dantura closed the TARDIS doors and walked over to his console. He nominated five other students and instructed them on how to fly it. Merzet and Arella stepped back against the wall and watched the six Time Lords fly the TARDIS through the vortex.

"Sure you wouldn't want to come with me someday?" Merzet muttered to Arella.

"No. I don't feel like traveling. Observing things would be boring to me."

"And archiving them is better?" Merzet said incredulously.

"You have your interests, I have mine,"

Merzet was about to reply to that when the TARDIS landed and powered down. Dantura walked to the front doors, opened them and ordered everyone to go outside. Merzet took Arella's hand and they stepped outside onto a field. In front of them was a large arena that resembled the Roman Coliseum but the ringed planet in the sky indicated they were not on Earth. Dantura didn't say where they were or what planet they were on, instead he instructed everyone to follow him. They went through a large entrance and Merzet looked around at the crowd. The arena was packed from top to bottom and he couldn't see anywhere to sit but Dantura led his students over to a balcony that jutted out from the first tier of seats. Below the balcony was the floor of the arena and it was made of dirt. There were a few entrances ringing the floor but all of them had metal gates on them.

"Gladiators?" Merzet muttered to Arella. "I've read about gladiator battles in ancient Rome on Earth…except this isn't Earth."

"Perhaps they had…gladiator battles on other planets," Arella said.

Merzet was going to reply when suddenly one of the metal gates began to go up. They were across the wide arena but they could hear the grating and squeaking as it went up. Merzet expected gladiators to come out, instead he got the shock of his life when several leather covered muscular men forced a young woman and a child out into the middle of the arena. Merzet looked up at the crowd when they cheered and looked back at the woman and child, wondering why the hell everyone was cheering at these two terrified people. The woman was in her early twenties, her long brown hair was disheveled and dirty and she was wearing a ripped and dirty white dress. The child was dirty and scared and clung to her while she looked around at the hooting and jeering crowd. He was horrified when one of the guards came out of the open doorway holding a whip in one end and a wooden club in the other. Two guards near the mother ripped her dress off her body and two more pulled the crying child away while she called for her mother. The woman who was the child's mother tried to go to her but the guards that ripped the dress off her held her still. The Doctor looked around at the crowd who were absolutely loving what was going on and he felt revulsion.

"Why is this being allowed to happen?" Merzet said aloud. "What crime has this woman and child committed?"

Unknown to him, Dantura looked at Merzet and a smile spread over his face when he saw how angry and agitated the young Time Lord was becoming. Arella gave Merzet a questioning look.

"Merzet?" she said.

"This isn't right," Merzet said. "Even if the woman has done something, surely the child is innocent. How can they torture them in front of all these people like it's a festival day?"

By now, the other students were looking at Merzet. A few of them snickered and nudged each other.

"Hey, Flackwat," a male student said, poking Merzet in the arm, "you're supposed to shut up and watch."

"Watch what? This travesty?" Merzet growled back at him.

The student stepped back a couple of paces when he saw the rage on his face. Then Merzet heard the whip crack and the woman and child scream as one of the guards whipped the woman. Arella tried to calm Merzet down but he jerked his hand away from hers and gritted his teeth as the whipping continued. By now, all the students except for Arella were giving Merzet odd looks and a few of them were tittering at his rage.

Merzet suddenly pushed past a few of the students, causing them to grunt as he roughly shoved them out of the way in his rush to get to the professor.

"Professor, with all due respect, this is unconscionable," Merzet said to Dantura when he reached his side. "Look at what they're doing to this woman and child. Surely, something must be done to stop this?"

"We're here to observe, idiot," said a male student standing next to Merzet.

Merzet rounded on him and the student jerked his head back when he saw the rage in his eyes.

"I don't care what we're here to do. This isn't right!" Merzet said to the stunned students as he pointed down to the woman. "Time Lords are supposed to be one of the higher species so why shouldn't we help others instead of standing around and observing?"

The student turned his shocked gaze to the professor. Dantura quickly hid his pleasure at finding someone who was distressed at the situation and adopted a calm demeanor.

"Professor, shut this loony up!" the student said, pointing to Merzet. "Before we end up down there with them."

"Professor, please, we have to do something to help," Merzet said, his eyes pleading for his professor's understanding.

"Professor, shut him up!" the student said while everyone except Arella nodded in agreement.

"No, he's right. This isn't right," Arella said, pushing past the other students.

By now the guards were beginning to beat the little girl with the club while the crowd cheered. Merzet grit his teeth and spun around towards the crowd.

"WHAT DO YOU FIND AMUSING ABOUT ALL THIS?" he bellowed at the crowd. "HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF IT WAS YOUR CHILD DOWN THERE?"

Only the first few rows near his position heard him and the handful of people gave him reproachful looks before turning their attention back to the woman and child.

"I think we should go now," Dantura said to his students.

"Yeah, before the idiot gets us killed," the student said.

"Professor, please, do something," Merzet said to Dantura.

"Merzet, go. There is nothing we can do, we're Time Lords. Follow the others back to the TARDIS. We're finished here."

Merzet glared at him for a moment before he turned.

"Maybe there's nothing you can do but by Rassilon, I will make damn sure I do something about things like this when I get my own TARDIS," Arella heard him saying under his breath as he stomped away from Dantura.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"God," Rose said. "I'm glad I finally took your side. To stand there and just watch that…and cheer for it. Course I've seen that sort of thing traveling with ya."

"Yes, but the difference is we actually made an effort to stop it," the Doctor said.

"But what is the point of you all?" Jackie said. "What is the point of being a Time Lord if all you do is watch? You invent time travel and you just go and watch things? Why be a Time Lord at all then?"

"I agree with you, Jackie, which is why I chose not to stand back and watch. I know it's odd to think that my kind invented time travel just for the purpose of watching things but in the beginning it wasn't like that. Rassilon who was one of the three inventors of time travel didn't mean for Time Lords and Ladies to be observers. He did want us to go out there and make a difference."

"So what changed then?" Rose said.

"Other civilizations learned the secrets of time travel and used them for evil purposes in addition to a few renegade Time Lords who did the same. Rassilon finally had to put a stop to it so he devised the laws of time and number one on the list was you could not interfere, only observe. And…"

"Yeah?" Rose said when he fell silent and lowered his head.

The Doctor took a deep breath.

"Rassilon led an army that annihilated most of the civilizations who were using time travel in order to return that knowledge solely to Gallifrey. He also killed most of the renegade Time Lords to get rid of them."

"He committed genocide?" Rose said.

"Yes. Actually, eons before I was born, there was a lot of genocide going on. The Time Lords went to war with anyone they felt were a threat to Gallifrey."

"The Daleks?" Rose said.

"What about them?" the Doctor said.

"Did they go to war with the Daleks as well?"

"No, the Daleks were created after I was born. However, there were the Racnoss, the great vampires and others who were threatening Gallifrey and all of creation. The Time Lords eliminated them."

The Doctor frowned when Jackie suddenly got up from her chair and walked over to him. She bent over and hugged him.

"I know you and I have often been at odds," she said as she hugged him. "But bless you for not following the crowd and going out and doing something about the atrocities in the universe. You got a lot of ridicule for trying to stop those people hurting that mother and child but I'm glad you spoke up when no one else would."

"Thank you, Jackie," the Doctor said, hugging her back. "I did what my hearts felt was right, nothing more than that. And that's part of the reason why I take people like your daughter with me, because it's a big job and I need help."

"Well, bless you for doing that," Jackie said, breaking off the hug and leaning back up. "But those people, did you ever go back to help them?"

The Doctor looked down at the floor and shook his head.

"No. I tried to find out where we went but Professor Dantura kept the location secret on purpose. Every once in awhile I do try to figure out where we went so I can go back and save them but so far, no luck."

"I'm going to make a fresh pot of tea and get some more biscuits. Keep on with your story," Jackie said, patting him on the shoulder before taking their cups and walking back to the kitchen.

"I love moments like this."

The Doctor looked at Rose.

"Moments like what?" he said.

"Like this, when you and mum care about each other. I know you both like each other; you just don't show it that often. Then moments like this come along and it makes the wait worth it."

"Okay, I admit I have gotten used to your mum in the two years I've known her."

"She's gotten used to you as well. It's getting late, Doctor, she goes to bed around this time but she's staying up to listen to your story. She's not the evil monster you think she is."

"I never said she was evil, just annoying at times," the Doctor said. "But she has her good points and you're right, there are moments like this when the good points surface."

"I hate that you haven't found them yet, the mother and child," Rose said, stretching out on the sofa and turning on her side to look up at him. "I hope you find them someday and stop all that from happening."

The Doctor nodded and gazed at her tenderly.

"I didn't protest at first. I stayed silent with the others while you got angry," Rose said. "I don't like that I did that."

The Doctor smiled fondly while he pushed a bit of her hair away from her face.

"Don't feel bad. Since the genocides, Rassilon pounded it into everyone's head that no one is to interfere in anything and that indoctrination continued until mine and Arella's time. I'm sure the other students hated watching what was going on and just being required to stand there and do nothing but that was part of the conditioning. You protested or tried to fight the system and at best, you were an outcast and at worst, you were imprisoned and possibly even executed if you were too much of a malcontent. I love my home world but like Earth, it had its bad points along with its good. You did manage to gather the courage to speak up near the end though so be proud of that."

Rose smiled when he laid his hand on the side of her head.

"So your professor secretly liked what you did?" Rose said.

"Yes. He was hoping someone would say something. Of course, he had to pretend to be shocked but deep down inside, I was what he was hoping for, someone who wouldn't be afraid to stand up for what was right."

"But he was too scared to do it himself," Rose said.

"Well, it was that conditioning. He had a very nice job and a nice salary and he didn't want to lose that. Flaunting the laws of time and space was a serious offense."

"But you managed to do it and nothing happened to ya," Rose said.

"No, actually, I was put on trial twice in my second and sixth lives because of that. But you see, the other Time Lords secretly supported me or a lot of them did anyway and sometimes they gave me missions to carry out. Like I said, the other students may have stood there but that didn't mean they approved of what we were seeing."

"And these secret supporters of yours didn't stop these trials when they happened?"

"No. The first trial was a coverup for a crime the High Council did. I was the scapegoat for that one. The second one…a man called the Valeyard convinced the council to put me on trial and have me executed. Otherwise, the government looked the other way for the most part. Then the Time War came along and they found a ready soldier so once again, I was used to do what the others wouldn't."

"And everyone else just stood back and watched you fight the Time War by yourself?" Rose said angrily.

"Not everyone. There were a few secret helpers, both in the council and on the front lines but those helpers made sure they and their activities were discreet."

"Ugh. At least your motives were out there in the open," Rose said. "Did I…Arella support you as well?"

The Doctor considered that for a moment.

"She did but her main problem with me was I was a traveler and she wasn't. She did approve of me fighting evil but our marriage fell apart because I made a vow to stop injustice wherever I found it and I gave myself to that rather than to our marriage. She left because I became a neglectful spouse and father rather than being a renegade Time Lord."

"Father?" Rose said.

"Yes, I had children and grandchildren. I did have a bit of a family life but I lost it all when I made the decision to be a full time traveler. That's the price I paid for my desire to help the universe."

"Then if I am Arella, maybe I'm here now to make up for that. Travel with you when I didn't do it before," Rose said.

"Perhaps. Even if you were just channeling her spirit and you're not her reincarnation, I still see a lot of her in you. Perhaps that's why I'm so fond of you."

"Happy to hear that, Merzy, can I fluff the hair some more?"

"No, the hair is sacred. It will not be fluffed."

The Doctor bolted out of the chair when Rose jerked her body up and started to get off the sofa.

"I'll stop the story. I'll go outside and spend the night in the TARDIS if you touch one follicle on my head!" he said. "The hair is sacred, you hear me?"

"Blast, wanted to run my fingers through the sacred locks," Rose said, settling back down on the sofa.

She giggled when the Doctor gave her a wary look before sitting back down in the chair. Rose laughed when the Doctor jerked his body the moment she wiggled her fingers.

"Yup, you have a bit of Arella in you," the Doctor said. "You're just as cheeky as she was."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"So when you got back from your trip, things changed?" Rose asked him.

"Well, I was shunned and ridiculed by other Time Lords for standing up for what I believed in. I was resentful of that but I since realized that they were too cowardly to do the same and most of them were probably joining in the ridicule in case anyone suspected them of being a renegade. Thanks, Jackie," he said when Jackie came back in with more tea and biscuits.

"And these other students made trouble for ya?" Jackie said, sitting the tray down on the table.

"Well, most of them stood back and ridiculed me or talked about me behind my back. But the majority of them stayed away from me. Guilt by association and all. Arella was the only one brave enough to be my friend."

"Yay!" Rose said, pumping the air with her fist.

"Actually," the Doctor said as Jackie sat down. "My real trouble started when Koschei came back to the Academy."

"Huh? I thought he was expelled," Rose said.

"He was. But his family was very rich. They owned a plantation with fields and fields of red grass. Red grass was used as fuel on some planets so Koschei's family made a fortune exporting it. His father had connections and influence in the High Council and he managed to get his son reinstated."

"Oh bugger," Rose said. "So he came after you then?"

"No, actually, he kept his distance at first. Mainly because he was watched by the professors to make sure he behaved. He was plotting his revenge but behind the scenes. Well, he stayed out of mine and Arella's way for awhile and then…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Merzet sat at the desk in his room. He was working on his homework when he heard a knock on the door. He raised his head and got up from his chair. He opened it and was shocked when Arella was standing there, tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" he said, stepping aside to let her in.

"I have to leave the Academy for a few days," Arella said.

"What? Why? It's final exams for this quarter," he said.

"I know, Merzy, but…my father was murdered."

"What?" Merzet said, shutting the door. "How?"

"Someone shot him with a laser blaster while he was out shopping with mum and my little sister. Whoever it was, the coward was in the shadows when he shot him."

"Oh, Arella, I'm sorry," Merzet said.

"I hope they catch the bastard and I hope they disintegrate him and keep his memories out of the matrix. I hope the son of a bitch is completely forgotten after he dies," Arella said, slumping down onto Merzet's bed.

Merzet sat down beside her and embraced her.

"Come with me back home," Arella said as she embraced him.

"What about the exams?" Merzet said.

"My family will speak to the headmaster and get us excused. Please, Merzet, I want you there at the funeral. Please?'

"Yes, I'll come with you," Merzet said.

Arella thanked him before giving him a firm kiss on the lips. The kiss turned into a snog and soon Arella and Merzet were making love on his bed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The Doctor paused and looked at Rose who was now staring at him with a highly interested look on her face.

"Go on," Rose said when he didn't continue.

"Sorry, I'm not going into graphic detail with your mum sitting across from me," the Doctor said. "We had sex and let's leave it at that."

"Blast, I was ready for some titillation," Rose said.

"Not me, I'd rather not listen to how aliens have sex," Jackie said. "Just skip past it please; we get the gist of it. You and her had comfort sex."

"Yes, exactly," the Doctor said, ignoring Rose's overly disappointed groan. "We spent most of the night making love and fell asleep in each other's arms. The next morning we went to see the headmaster and got permission to delay our exams until after the funeral. Her uncle had phoned the night before and explained the situation so he'd already made up his mind when we got there. By that afternoon we were on our way to her house."

"Did you like her family?" Rose said.

"The ones I met, yes. She had a huge extended family like most Gallifreyans. I met her mother and some of her brother and sisters but a couple of her uncles and her cousins were off making the funeral arrangements. But they welcomed me and made me feel at home. She lived in a different area of Gallifrey so they didn't know about my oddity. It felt good to be treated like a normal member of society and not a pariah. When a Gallifreyan dies, there is a huge funeral feast. Friends usually bring in food for the family so they won't have to cook. So the first night we had a lavish dinner and I met some of the family friends who also welcomed me warmly.

"Was it burial or cremation?" Jackie asked.

"Cremation. First, the mind of the deceased is drained and its contents are stored for all time in the Matrix which was a repository of all knowledge on my planet. It was a way for the deceased to live on. That's why Arella hoped the murderer wouldn't have that privilege. Then a funeral pyre is built, the body is wrapped and burned in the presence of the mourners. After that, the family goes into a deep mourning for a month and then there is another feast to end it."

"So you were s'posed to be at Arella's for a month then?" Rose said.

"No, we couldn't do that. The Academy gave us leave to go home for a couple of days but our studies were too important for Arella to stay away that long. She mourned at school."

"By wearing black?" Jackie said.

"No, by a half fast. For a month, the family doesn't eat anything except for vegetable salad and water. Wearing black is an Earth custom."

Rose sat up.

"When you destroyed your planet, did you mourn like that?" Rose said.

The Doctor let out a mirthless laugh.

"I did more than just eat salad and drink water. I went on a fast that very nearly killed me," he said. "I hated what I did and I didn't want to live. I finally came to my senses and decided that it wouldn't do anybody any good if I snuffed it so I pulled myself together. But when I met you, I was still recovering from that and that's why I was bitter and angry."

Silence descended over the flat for a moment since neither Jackie nor Rose knew what to say to that. They could see the anguish in the Doctor's eyes as he relieved the memories of destroying Gallifrey. Finally, Rose reached out and touched his arm and the Doctor came out of his reverie and smiled at her with love in his eyes.

"Um…anyway, Arella and I were guests at the funeral dinner," the Doctor said as Rose scooted up to the edge of the sofa and took his hand. "They held it outside and they had built a fire pit because a few people had brought a large boar for a barbecue. The sun had set and the fire and a few candles on the tables were the only light we had. It was a large dinner so there were five tables, three of them were pushed together and the other two were behind them. Each table was just laden with food, bowls and bowls of it. I think part of the reason the feasts were held was because food can be a sort of medicine to ease the pain. Plus, the gathering of kith and kin and friends helped as well. Anyway, It was after dark and the stars were out and Arella and I decided to take a short walk while the boar was roasting. We grabbed a glo orb because we were going to go beyond the illuminated area. Arella's family was also well off and they had a large house with many acres and we wanted to be alone. Problem was, when we started walking we had no idea that someone was watching from the darkness and walking with us."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"The murderer?" Rose said.

"Yes. Like I said, there was a lot of land so he hid out in a clump of trees on the property and waited for dark."

"So, this person knew the family?" Jackie said.

"No wait; it's Koschei, isn't it? This was his revenge," Rose said.

"See, this is why I travel with Rose. She's highly intelligent and can figure out things quickly," the Doctor said to Jackie.

"Well, that's my girl, bright spark, she is," Jackie said proudly while Rose beamed.

"Yes, she is and yes, it was Koschei and yes, this was his revenge or part of it. Arella was close to her father so killing him was step one of the revenge plot."

"How did he find out about her family?" Rose said.

"He hacked into the Academy database and got the information on Arella's home and family. He's a technological genius. He chose her dad at random I think since the database wouldn't say Arella was close to her father but she was so the death hit her exceptionally hard."

"Bastard," Jackie said, shaking her head. "I've met some nutters in my time but this Koschei is barking mad. I'm glad he's dead now."

"So am I," Rose said. "But did Koschei know you were coming to the funeral?"

"Not sure. He might have guessed that since he knew Arella and I were lovers and probably hoped I was going to show up but I think he also wanted to observe the funeral from afar and watch the aftermath of his handiwork. When Arella and I took a walk it was too good a temptation to pass up…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Merzet and Arella walked hand in hand through the burnt orange grass. The moon was out and the stars overhead twinkled brightly. Merzet glanced up at them and admired their beauty. He gasped when his foot hit a small hole and he stumbled slightly. Merzet blushed when Arella chuckled at that and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Watch your step, Merzy," she said fondly.

"No, the burrowing creatures need to make their homes elsewhere and stay out of my way," he quipped as he put his arm around his lover.

They stood for a moment staring up at the stars while they listened to a night bird chirping in the trees several feet off to their left. They remained silent for several minutes and then Arella spoke.

"You know, it was said during the time of the Pythia that they believed that the souls of the dead became the stars and lit up the universe for all eternity."

Merzet let out a small snort and Arella looked at him.

"Don't believe that?"

"No. Stars are balls of flaming gas not the souls of the deceased. That's why the Pythia's reign came to an end. A world ruled by superstition and fear instead of logic could never last."

Arella was quiet for a moment.

"Superstition often has a more poetic reason for things than logic does," she said.

Merzet considered that for a moment and nodded.

"I meant no offense," Merzet said. "I s'pose it's my Time Lord mind being its usual logical self. You're right, the poetic explanation sounds better than just balls of gas."

"I'd like to think we will end up somewhere other than just the Matrix," Arella said. "I want to believe there is an afterlife of some sort."

"I have no answer for that," Merzet said, shaking his head.

"I know. Time Lord logic and all but in my hearts I think my father is somewhere pleasant. I want to believe that he still lives and isn't just the sum of his memories now."

Merzet said nothing as he gave his lover's hand a squeeze. He wasn't sure what happened to the soul and he didn't want to say anything more since the memory of her father's soul in the afterlife was giving Arella some comfort at the moment. He stood with her and stared up at the stars, admiring the night sky and it's beauty. While they were staring up at the sky, Merzet heard a soft rustling in the grass nearby and he turned his head just in time to see something scurrying behind the trees. The glo orb wasn't strong enough to shine light on the trees but he'd seen the movement just the same. His eyes narrowed and he handed the orb to Arella and told her to wait a moment.

"Merzet? What's wrong?"

"I'm checking something out, just wait for me," Merzet said.

Arella was confused but she stayed where she was while Merzet moved towards the trees. As he neared them, he heard a familiar chuckle and his fist clenched when he realized who it was.

"My condolences to the family," Koschei said in a hushed voice.

"You bastard," Merzet said as he stepped behind the tree and saw the dark silhouette of his former friend while he leaned against one of the trees. "How dare you come here?"

"I wanted to pay my respects to your girlfriend's family," Koschei said with a shrug while he stayed against the tree. "So sad. Bless her little cotton socks."

"You're not wanted here. Leave!" Merzet growled at him.

"Ooo, in charge now, are we? Master of the house already? My, my, they've made you one of their own, haven't they? I thought only the head of the household could order me off the property. Oh wait, the head of the household is dead now. So I guess the family's screwed now since no one can order me to go."

"Go now before I make you leave!"

Koschei snorted out laughter and leaned up.

"You know, you're really pathetic when you try to order people about," he said. "I'll leave when I'm good and ready, Wormhole, and not before. So why don't you and your little slut go back to your little twee chat about stars being souls so I can listen and have a laugh?"

"Leave now!" Merzet snarled.

He stiffened when Koschei whipped a dagger out and the blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"Why not make it two funerals, Wormhole? The slut's father and your own?"

Merzet jerked his body out of the way when Koschei lunged for him. He only had the light of the moon and the trees were thick enough that the light was very dim. Both he and Koschei were using the shadows, trying to gain an advantage over the other while Merzet tried to get the dagger out of his former friend's hand.

"Too bad my father knows people on the High Council," Koschei said to Merzet as he stayed in the shadows. "You might have been rid of me, once and for all, but here I am, thorn in your side. And speaking of being in your side…"

Koschei lunged again and Merzet tried to sidestep but he gasped when the dagger sliced open the skin just below his ribcage.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Oh my God, he wounded you?" Rose said.

"Luckily, it was a flesh wound, but yeah, he managed to get my side."

"Do you still have the scar?" Jackie said.

"Um, no. I've had nine bodies since that one, the scar it made is long gone."

"Where was I? What was I doing in all this?" Rose said.

"You went back to get help. Unfortunately, you took the glo orb with you so all I had to see by was the moonlight. But after Koschei injured me, I tried to lure him out of the trees so I could see him better. But he heard Arella's relatives coming and he ran for it. I tried to chase him but I was in pain and couldn't run as fast as he could. He ran across the field and into another clump of trees and managed to get away. They had to delay the feast in order to bandage me up and everyone was on edge the rest of the night once they heard what happened. Koschei managed to ruin the feast and put everyone on edge but then again he has a talent for doing that. For centuries, he's managed to ruin things whenever he shows up. Arella's family had to hire guards to keep watch while they carried out the cremation so not only did he ruin the mood of the evening but the family had to pay money out of their own pocket just to keep him from ruining things further. I tried not to hate him, I tried to empathize because I know he was mentally unbalanced but there are times I loathed Koschei and this was one of those times."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Doctor excused himself to use the toilet. Rose watched while he walked off and when he was out of earshot, Jackie shook her head.

"The poor man, I never realized he had such a difficult life," she said.

"I knew there was some darkness in his life but this is the first time he's talked at length about it. I'm surprised he's said this much," Rose said.

"Maybe this needed to be said," Jackie said.

"I think a lot of things need to be said when it comes to him, mum."

They fell silent when the Doctor came back in the room.

"Ah, that's better," the Doctor said as he sat back down. "Lots of tea equals lots of pee."

Rose giggled when Jackie rolled her eyes at that.

"What? That's what happens when you drink a lot of tea," the Doctor said with a shrug. "Anyway, where were we?"

"The funeral," Rose said.

"Yes. Well, the next evening they had the funeral," the Doctor said, settling back in the chair. "I spent the night in the guest room since Arella and I weren't married. Little did I know, Arella was speaking to her mother about me while I slept and telling her about our relationship."

"They didn't know about you and her?" Rose said.

"They thought I was a friend, they had no idea we were lovers," the Doctor said. "Arella wanted to make it official because she was hoping to marry me."

"So you had to get permission from the parents then?" Rose said.

"Well, it was better if you did, although getting married without permission was accepted but like I said, Arella wanted to make it official."

"And she waited to do this while you were asleep?" Jackie said. "Doesn't seem fair to me."

"Well, she told me later she wasn't sure how her mom would react since she just lost her husband. She wanted to tell her and not have me there in case her mother didn't approve. It was a delicate time."

"And did she approve?" Rose said.

"Yes. She was happy for us. Arella had never dated anyone before me. I was her first and she was 136 when she met me."

Jackie's eyes bulged.

"She didn't date anyone till she was 136 years old?" she said.

The Doctor gave her an incensed look while Rose laughed.

"I'll have you know that 136 was still considered a teenager age on my planet, Jackie. I was still considered a kid when I was 90 years old so not dating until that age is not that strange."

"He's 902, mum," Rose said.

"And I can live for several more centuries if I'm lucky," the Doctor said.

"What have you been doing with yourself all this time then?" Jackie said.

Rose laughed harder while the Doctor gave Jackie a long, hard stare.

"I've been knitting," he said dryly. "My fourth life, I made a big long scarf and since then I've been keeping myself busying knitting sweaters for elephants. It's my guilty pleasure."

"Alright, cheeky, I meant have you been travelin' all this time?" Jackie said.

"Since I was 147," the Doctor said.

"And what is that? Teenager?"

"Late teens, yes."

"You must have seen everything by now?" Jackie said.

"A fair amount, yes. Not everything. The universe is a bit larger than that."

"But 147 is when you left Arella to travel?" Rose said.

"Well, I made short trips before that. 147 was when I decided to travel full time. That's when I found the TARDIS and stole her away."

"Stole?" Jackie said. "You have to steal those things?"

"She's not a thing, she's a female and no, most people were given TARDIS's upon successful completion of their driving test."

"And you weren't given one?" Rose said.

"Um…well, I failed my driving test."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jackie said while Rose laughed. "Anything else you like to share with us?"

"Yes, Jackie, I was Jack the Ripper. I carved those bangtails up from neck to navel because they deserved it, the dirty sluts. I was also Hitler. Seig Heil! Oh and I also dress up as Crackers the Clown and pass out balloons to children at funfairs. I consider it my civic duty to make Earth children smile."

Jackie eyed him while Rose howled with laughter. The Doctor shrugged.

"You asked me to share some things with you, Jackie. You didn't specify what you wanted me to share," he said.

"How do you keep sane around him?" Jackie asked Rose.

"I don't. I'm just as barmy as he is now."

"Yes, I believe that," Jackie said.

"Anyway, before we go further with this and Jackie ends up punching me…the next morning, Arella came into the room and woke me up…"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Merzy…"

Merzet opened one eye and looked at Arella. She was standing over him, smiling broadly. Merzet opened the other eye and grinned at her.

"Good morning. You're up early," he said.

"I spoke to mother last night," she said, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"Is she alright?"

"Well, considering she just lost her husband, she's doing well. I told her about our relationship."

"And…"

"She likes you."

"That's good to know."

"She would like to adopt you into our family."

Merzet sat up and stared at her.

"Seriously? She hasn't known me that long."

"I know but she can see you're a good person and she needs a mature male to help around the house. You could stay here when you come home from the Academy and get free room and board if you'd help out around the house."

XOXOXOXOXO

"That's nice of her to do that," Rose said.

"Yes but I was in shock for a moment because my own family barely tolerated me. Just the thought that someone thought me worthy enough to adopt me as a son was overwhelming."

"I still think it's silly that you were shunned because of your navel," Jackie said.

"Well, some people on Earth shun people with deformities, don't they? Or shun the mentally ill or the ones who don't quite fit in?" the Doctor challenged.

"Yes, I s'pose that's true," Jackie said.

"Live births on my planet hadn't happened for millennia. Everyone who had been born vaginally had died by the time I was loomed. So no one had seen a navel before. I know it seems like a little thing to you but I've seen some humans mock someone with a pimple on their face. As much as I hate to admit it, my people didn't act like the enlightened beings they claimed to be. In many ways, they acted just as badly as humans. My family were embarrassed because I had this oddity and they paid as little attention as possible to me so no one would associated them with me. So yes, I was shocked that Arella's family wanted me in their lives."

"But if you were adopted into her family, wouldn't that make you and Arella brother and sister?"

"No, they didn't look at it that way because we weren't blood related. Incest was between blood relatives. I was considered a member of the family in a symbolic way but no one batted an eye when Arella and I got married. They would have if we'd been blood related, though. "

"So did you get married then?" Rose said.

"Not yet. Not until later. Unfortunately, when we got back to the Academy, Koschei was there waiting for us."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"Blimey, he was like a bad penny, eh?" Rose said. "Just wouldn't leave ya alone."

"Well, in many ways, he was all I had," the Doctor said. "His father was constantly busy and was cold and distant and after he developed his mental illness, he shunned him even further. I was one of the few people in his lives who accepted him for who he was so yes; he didn't want to lose that. He hated Arella with a passion because she was a threat to our childhood bond. By marrying me, I would have spent less time with him and so he lashed out at her, unfortunately in a very destructive way."

"And no one thought to lock this loony up somewhere?" Jackie said.

"No. Because no one would admit he had a problem. Especially the Time Lords since that would be an admission that their initiation ceremony was damaging children. Besides, Koschei was very good at hiding his mental illness from others who didn't know him. He was the classic psychopath, extremely charming at first until you got to know him. And that was before he set his sights on conquering all of reality."

"So the people at the Academy were fooled by his behavior?" Rose said.

"The people at the Academy looked the other way because his father gave them a generous donation to reinstate him. And he was very careful not to draw attention to himself once he was there. No one suspected him of the murder. They either couldn't or wouldn't implicate him. And that caused a lot of pain and misery in the long run since no one thought to have someone around to keep him in check."

"And you were only one man," Rose said.

"Well, that and I also was trying to keep away from him since he was out to harm me and Arella. It wasn't my place to be his minder anyway, that fell to his relatives and the staff at the Academy and neither one of them was willing to do it."

"So, he tried to kill ya again when you got back?" Rose said.

"Well…no, he tried a different tactic. He tried to get me expelled."

"How?" Jackie said.

"Well…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Three weeks had passed since Merzet and Arella returned from the funeral. By now, the betrothal had been finalized and made official to the rest of Arella's family. All that remained was to pick a date for the wedding but Merzet held off on that, frightened of what Koschei might do if he learned about it. Koschei deliberately kept away from him, leaving whenever Merzet entered a room and staying out of his path. But Merzet still saw him from a distance on occasion, watching him from behind a building or tree. Merzet tried to ignore him but each time he spotted his former best friend stalking him, it made him more and more angry. His grades were beginning to slip. He was losing interest in the Academy in addition to keeping his eye on Koschei and worrying about his next move.

It got to the point where Professor Dantura asked him to stay behind after class one day. Once everyone was gone, Dantura closed the door and asked Merzet to come over to his lecture podium.

"Merzet, I've noticed that you haven't been performing as well as you should on your assignments and quizzes," he said.

"Yes, sir," Merzet said.

"Care to explain why?"

"Just not interested any longer, sir."

"And why is that?"

Merzet shrugged, not wanting to explain about Koschei. Dantura studied him in silence for a moment.

"Merzet, I know you've had some difficulties with your roommate and I know he was forced to leave the Academy before being reinstated. Personally, after what he did, I wouldn't have let him but money and influence sometimes speak louder than Gallifreyan voices."

"Yes, sir."

"You may not believe this, Merzet, but I think you're an exceptionally brilliant student and I want to see you succeed. A student like you comes along once in a great while. You were meant to do great things."

"I don't think so, sir."

"That's because you've been ridiculed your whole life until you think yourself worthless. You're not worthless, you were meant to travel the stars and make a difference in the lives of the lower beings."

"We're not allowed to interfere in the lives of the lower beings, sir."

Dantura snorted and leaned in.

"What would you have done if I hadn't denied you the chance to save that woman and child?" he said.

Merzet gave him a wary look and backed up.

"I'm not looking to expel you, quite the opposite. I look for students like you each term. Those who will raise an objection. So tell me, Merzet, what would you have done?"

"Saved them, sir."

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Merzet said hesitantly.

"Then why do you sound so unsure?" Dantura said.

"Because, sir, I shouldn't be talking about this."

"Because in our society, it's not right to interfere with the lives of the lower species?"

"Yes, sir."

"And do you agree with that? Tell me truthfully, I won't tell a soul what you've said here. Everything is in the strictest confidence."

"I don't agree with that, sir. I think it's horrible to stand back and watch injustices when you can do something about it."

"Yes, go on," Dantura said when he stopped speaking and shot a nervous look at the door.

"That woman and child deserved mercy, even if they had committed a crime. The men who hurt them were no better than beasts."

"And you're willing to risk your reputation to help those who are in need?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

"Good?" Merzet said in shock. "You approve of my opinion?"

"Yes, Merzet," Dantura said, putting his hands behind his back before walking around the room. "Because I also share your belief that we, as a higher species, should look after and help the lesser ones and elevate them whenever possible. Unfortunately, Rassilon thought otherwise but in many ways, he was a fool."

He chuckled when Merzet's eyes bulged.

"I know, heresy to say something like that but like you, I can't help thinking differently than the herd," he said. "I know that I'm being a hypocrite by staying here in the Academy and doing nothing but the way I see it, I'm in a position to spot people who have a passion for helping others and nurturing them. That's why I'm extremely distressed that your grades are slipping. You mustn't give up, Merzet, you need to succeed and graduate from here so you can get a TARDIS and get out there and make a difference in the universe. Have the courage to do what many others won't and stand against injustice in the universe."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Wow, I like him. Wish I had a teacher who cared that much when I was in school," Rose said.

"Unfortunately, I was young and foolish and I didn't apply myself hard enough to my studies," the Doctor said. "I suppose it doesn't matter now since I'm doing what Dantura wanted but all the same, he was my first mentor and I felt like I let him down when I did less than stellar at the Academy. Hindsight is 20/20, of course. At the time I resented most of the professors at the school and apart from Arella, I felt alienated from the students. At the time, I coulda possibly cared less about the Academy since they coulda cared less about me. But it was refreshing to hear that Dantura supported me. I just wish he'd gathered up the courage to do what I do and leave the teaching position to fight evil. Scouting out potential rebels like myself is fine but once you find someone who might break away from the flock, you have no way of knowing they'll go out and fight injustice. Why stand back and merely be a spotter when you can go and do and make sure it gets done?"

His eyes bulged when Rose lept up, mussed up his hair again and sat back down.

"There! I went and did it and got it done. Your hair is even more insane looking. I've made a difference in the universe," she said.

The Doctor eyed her while she stuck her tongue between her teeth and winked at him. She laughed and leapt up when the Doctor got up and tried to put his fingers in her hair.

"So, anyway," the Doctor said, sitting back down while Rose pranced back to her place on the sofa, "while this was going on, little did I know Koschei was moving against me. So by the time I got back to the dormitory, I receive a message from the aide to the Chancellor requesting me to come and meet him in the morning."


End file.
